Voice of the Enemy band members (left to right) include university students
Luke Peebles, Hayden Kimball, Brendan Labry and Chris Rabalais.
The band describes their music as thrash metal. 

Southeastern thrash metal band Voice of the Enemy is made up of university students.

“It’s a hybrid of Southern metal like Pantera and thrash like Metallica,” said lead guitarist and vocalist Hayden Kimball. 

Band members include Kimball, drummer Brendan Labry, bass player Luke “Chef” Peebles and rhythm guitar player Chris Rabalais. Though all band members currently attend Southeastern, their musical careers go farther back.

“We started as I was getting towards the end of high school,” said Kimball. “Luke and I went to high school together as did our drummer. We wanted to start something just because all of the local bands were forming and we wanted to be a part of it; we were getting inspired. So our drummer picked up drums for the first time. This actually is the first band he has ever been in.”

Voice of the Enemy is in the process of recording four new original songs for their first full-length album, which will include ten songs. 

“When it comes to writing songs, our subject matter deals with not being accepted; that’s what Voice of the Enemy actually means, being the voice of the thing that people hate the most,” said Kimball. “We took this ugly thing and we are trying to turn it into something beautiful. If you look at metal music, it is not widely accepted. A lot of people are quick to stereotype it and that’s what I mean by ugly thing. It’s this thing that people don’t see as pretty, something that’s pleasant to listen to.”

Juggling the life of being a band member and a student is a challenging job, providing holidays as the best time to focus on music. 

 “Chris usually has stuff to do in the fall, as well as me,” said Peebles. “Hayden has school so we have to worry about that nearly yearlong, and Brendan has a lot of family stuff. So during the summers we usually have a lot [of free time], and towards the end of fall and beginning of winter as well. It really depends on what time of year.”

The band’s new album is inspired by 80’s thrash, but musicians who push the limits inspire Rabalais himself.

“My inspiration is players like Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Frank Zappa, guys who try to push the limits of what is possible,” said Rabalais.

Voice of the Enemy is not just about fame and fortune; they enjoy playing and making music together as a whole.

“It’s all about doing what we love and sharing our music,” said Labry.

Voice of the Enemy has played in places such as Baton Rouge, Slidell, Metairie and Lafayette, and have no intention of stopping.

“My plans for the future are to play with these guys until I can’t play anymore,” said Peebles. “Even if we don’t make it big like everyone dreams of, it’s still just fun to play a show with my boys and get some music out there.”

For more information about Voice of the Enemy and where their next show is, check out their Facebook page.